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Monday, April 2, 2012

Cheesecake Filled Chocolate Easter Eggs

It's hard to believe Easter is just around the corner. This year is going too fast for me to keep up! I swear it felt like yesterday that I was laughing at how quickly the Easter displays went up to replace the Christmas stuff at the beginning of the year, it has managed to creep up on me. My days are getting busier and busier, so I am easily drawn to the simpler, quicker desserts that I can pull together at the last minute. This recipe could not be any easier; there's no baking involved and it takes hardly any time to create these cute Cheesecake-Filled Chocolate Easter Eggs with a 'yolk' made of passionfruit sauce.

I took it as a compliment when Lisa (who hates eating eggs) said that these looked so much like real eggs that she was a little creeped out by them. The texture of the chilled cheesecake and the passionfruit sauce looks just right, making it a great filling for some regular hollow chocolate easter egg shells that I cut the tops off. I was inspired by the chocolate-mousse filled Easter egg cups that I've seen on sale and decided to do my own spin on that idea but with a cheesecake filling and a deliciously fruity filling in the centre that would look like an egg yolk. So it looks a little like a creme egg. It's not the same but it's just as tasty.

I used my regular chilled cheesecake filling recipe for this, and made up a sauce using passionfruit pulp, apricot jam and a little bit of butter. There's enough sourness from the passionfruit (and the lemon in the cheesecake) to make this a light, creamy and not overly sweet dessert. And it does not get easier than this. It's quite interesting to see how simple this recipe is compared to the Easter Bunny Macarons (including all the hilarious scenarios that I got carried away with while photographing them) and Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream Sandwiches that I came up with last year. This recipe is much quicker and less complicated, but hopefully just as enjoyable to eat!

Alright, I admit I may have taken a few too many photos of these little treats. Probably more than was necessary. But I am still a little scarred from all the trouble I had with the ugliness that way my Twix Cake so I was just happy to have something cute and not falling apart to photograph. Surprisingly A was all excited when he saw these in the fridge and quickly ate two of them, I can never guess which of my recipes he'll end up liking but he was a big fan of the fluffy cheesecake filling and the small hit of passionfruit in the centre. Technically it's more of a cheesecake mousse since there's no crust (though you could put some crust at the bottom of each egg if you wanted) and it's not baked, or a cake.

So if you're looking for a really, really, REALLY easy and light dessert to serve up after a big meal during the Easter break then these are for you. They can be eaten with a small spoon or devoured like a creme egg, whatever floats your boat. I bought the chocolate eggs from the supermarket, but if you're feeling really adventurous you could try making your own. Any plain, regular-sized hollow chocolate eggs will do. I got some very pretty ones that had all different flavours, I especially liked the look of the white chocolate and strawberry shell below. I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holidays, I am looking forward to some time off!

Cheesecake-Filled Chocolate Easter Egg Cups(makes 6-8 regular sized easter egg cheesecakes, you may need to adjust the amount of cheesecake filling depending on the size of your eggs)
6-8 hollow chocolate easter egg shells (mine were from the supermarket, approx 6cm tall and 4cm at its widest width, apparently they're not so easy to find in the US so if anyone can find a good online store let me know and I'll link it, apparently you can find them in the US at See's Candy and Costco, thanks Birgit! And on eBay. And HERE at Amazon.com, thanks Tuscadero! Or make your own here. Another commenter rolled melted chocolate around the inside of a cleaned out egg shell and then peeled away the shell when it was set.)
150g (about 5oz) cream cheese, softened
30g (about 1/4 cup) icing sugar (confectioners' sugar), sifted
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
125ml (about 1/2 cup) thickened/heavy whipping cream
For the 'yolk': 1 passionfruit, 1 tbsp apricot jam, 1 tbsp (about 15g) unsalted butter (passionfruit juice can be replaced with about 2 tsp of freshly squeezed orange, mandarin juice or mango, peach nectar, you can adjust the amount of juice to taste), alternatively you can substitute with any fruit curd you prefer.Optional: you can include some cheesecake crust crumbs at the base of each egg if you really want to include some sort of crust into the dessert.

Using a small serrated knife, carefully remove the tops of the chocolate eggs. (A couple of people have mentioned that heating the knife under warm water will make this easier and neater, thanks for the tip! But personally I like having the jagged edges.) Place the eggs in the fridge to keep them chilled while you prepare the cheesecake filling, you can use egg cups or your fridge egg holder (Don't use an egg carton like me. I shouldn't have used it but I was desperate at the time, I bought the egg cups the day after!). Place the cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside and carefully whip the thickened cream in a separate mixing bowl to stiff peaks (watch it closely as thickened cream is very easy to overwhip and split). Using a whisk, gently combine the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until it is smooth. Carefully spoon or pipe the mixture into the prepared chocolate shells. Chill eggs for at least 30 minutes to allow it to set.

Prepare the passionfruit sauce; strain passionfruit pulp to remove the seeds and place in a small saucepan with the apricot jam and butter. Gently heat on low, whisking until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. (If your apricot jam is chunky you should strain the sauce at this point) Place in the fridge and chill until it thickens slightly. Using a small spoon, carefully scoop out a hole in the centre of each cheesecake, about 1 cm deep and wide. Fill hole with some of the chilled passionfruit sauce and return the eggs to the fridge to chill again for at least 30 mins. Remove eggs from the fridge about 10 minutes before serving. Can be made 2-3 days in advance, keep eggs in the fridge in a holder inside an airtight container or covered tightly with clingfilm to stop them drying out.

you can buy a chocolate egg mold on amazon for $1.75 and then make as many eggs as you like! http://www.amazon.com/MEDIUM-HOLLOW-CHOCOLATE-CANDY-MOLD/dp/B000EAAL8W/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1347914704&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=hollow+chocolate+eggs

You have me swooning! I had seen something like this years ago but they made their own chocolate shells. This is marvelous to buy the shells - duh! I will have to give these a try. I adore the idea of passion fruit for the yolk too. I didn't think there were too many pictures (of course I put way too many in too) but I loved all of your pics!

These are adorable and I would love to Pin them. I see there are already LOTS of pins and repins.... but I read that you require permission before using any of your images.

I am curious... did the the first person to Pin this get your consent, and if so, then can we repin them? I ask this because I have been very concerned about the possible infringement of copyrighted material, not so much my own property but when using other's.

I have the CC notification/requirement link and a Pinterest link at the top of my sidebar. I also have a PIN button at the bottom of most posts.

Bunny Jean - My work is covered by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 Australia, which means anyone is free to use my images so long as they properly credit me with a link back to the original content. So there's no need for someone to get consent to pin something to pinterest, so long as they provide the proper link back to the post on my blog. It is more of a courtesy than a requirement that I ask people to ask for permission first, especially people who are reusing a lot of my images or are copying a recipe. My main issue is with people who copy my content on to their own sites and either don't link back to me at all, or only link back to the front page of my blog, especially those who are getting an income from their web traffic via advertising. Hope that helps clear things up!

Oh thank goodness. I hadn't thought to ask for permission since the pin has your blod address underneath it and clicking on it takes you straight to this post. Then I read Bunny Jean's comment and started to panic until I read your reply. Phew!

I must admit - the pin went crazy -within a day almost 70 people repinned. No wonder though, these are C-U-T-E!!

Just FYI, but pinning something on Pinterest shouldn't violate any copyright laws, since you aren't copying them. You are creating a link. It's the digital equivalent of a reference or a bibliography. "Go over here and look at this great thing."

TychaBrahe - That's pretty much what I was saying. But there are still plenty of images floating around on Pinterest without a link to the original source, which defeats the entire purpose of Pinterest in my opinion!

So glad I came back here to see your response. I usually don't return to re-read my comments, although I do like that the "reply" option allows other comments to add to the discussion :)

I only asked my original question because you had stated that you wanted permission... even though you have the Creative Commons attribution policy. Just wasn't sure which to precedence over the other....Bunny

Im def going to try this. I love the idea of a carton to serve on a buffet setting and I do know that you can buy ceramic egg crates (which resembles an egg carton), people use it to hold up to a dozen eggs, this would be a great alternative to the carton one.

Wow these look fantastic - I am waiting for mine to finish chilling in the fridge then I will be putting it together. Can I ask what camera you have? I love love love all your photos. How do you do it? My kids are going to love it!

You can make them 2-3 nights before serving them, I wouldn't do it any earlier than that since it has fresh cream in it. Just keep it in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in glad wrap in the fridge!

Sure...anything yellow coloured would work. Like making regular icing or buttercream with yellow food colouring. Or make more cheesecake filling and add yellow food colouring. But to be honest I think the recipe benefits from the fruit, it gives some contrast in flavours.

....... you are a dirty, filthy slob with a sense of humor .... lol!! ........ I really do not have the patience or the skill to make these myself, but somebody can make them for me if they would like. Cheesecake and chocolate .... my idea of Heaven!

I dont like the Easter Eggs they sale in the super markets ,so I melted white chocolate into hollow boiled egg shells( after cleaning them out very carefully) and rolled the chocolate around the empty egg shell and until I got the thickness I wanted, put they in the fridge and then peeled of the old egg and made up your filling and put it in ,,, Thye Turned out Great thank you for the idea

being a aussie living in The states the chocolate just doesnt seem to live up to the aussie chocolate, so I try to play around add little more milk and it seems to work and yes I dont like the cheap chocolate either,Thanks for putting all those recipes vicki

As a big (emphasis on big) fan of desserts, sweets, cheesecake and eggs, I give this a big 2 thumbs up. Now if you could come up with a recipe for diabetics that would be fantastic. We can eat the dark chocolate, the darker the better, but I'm afraid the cheesecake filling will be too much for us. It does look fantastic though and anyone who can eat this enjoy one for me, wouldja?

It will be a hu-u-u-ge sacrifice on my part but I would be glad to help you out. Do you want details later or should I keep them to myself??

Could you maybe make them smaller to get within the range of permitted sugar intake? They could be wren's eggs instead of chicken eggs. Non-diabetics could have more than one or you could do some large and some small.

I'm going to try and make them with a thick yogourt instead of the cheesecake. I don't know if it will work but worth a try.

Someone has probably already asked I am sure, but these egg shells are pre-made store bought? I can't seem to find anything like this around...Should I look for molds? I check Costco on line as I don'[t have one close by and they search was fruitless.

Yes in the recipe I stated I bought the shells premade. Unfortunately they don't appear to be as common in the US as they are here in australia, but it seems pretty easy to make your own! See the anon comments two above yours and several below yours.

Hi:)firstly, thanx for an awesome blog! I really think you have amazing talent. I am planning to make these over the weekend and would just like to know whether you spooned or piped the cheesecake filling into the choc eggs?

I think this is awesome. And I say, use ur egg cartons... you could always get some easter themed tissue paper to put in each cup of the egg carton and put the darling little chocolate eggs on top of that :)-Rachael

First, I found eggs on Amazon.com, but there weren't that many bags left (they were sold in bags of 40 for around $20.) Second, I'm wondering how much in advance can you make these if you store them in the fridge? I'd like to make some for Saturday and some for Sunday (different social events) but I'd like to make them all at the same time. Does the filling get weird if I were to make these on Friday? Maybe wait until right before I head out to put the sauce on? Please advise. Thanks!

Nice! Thanks for the tip! You can make them about 2-3 days in advance, so Friday is fine. I wouldn't do it any earlier than that since it had fresh cream in. Just keep them stored held upright in either an airtight container or covered well in clingfilm so they don't dry out. Yes I suppose you could make the sauce on the day so it's not so set, but still give it at least half an hour to thicken or it will be too runny. Hope that helps!

These look so cute!! I cannot wait to try them! For anyone in the US who is having trouble finding eggs, you can also find molds at most local craft stores or even try the discount stores (Big Lots and Ollies are two one the Eastern side that I frequent) they seem to always have a wide range of different candies that you cannot find other places.

You mentioned making your own eggs, because if Costco is the only place to get them, I'm not buying a membership just to go once. I don't even think there is one in my area. How do you make the egg shapes?

I am in the US and had the HARDEST time finding hollow eggs but SEE'S CANDIES have them!! They do have little chocolate chicks in them but once you cut the top open they will fall out, and the chocolate is delicious!

I just made one to try and it was super easy and yummy! I used the Philadelphia cheesecake filling and lemon curd. I'll be making more tomorrow to take for family Easter. I plan to use the bottom half of a clear pop pan to carry them. Thanks!!

you could use a jello no bake cheesecake box and a can of lemon meringue pie filling if youre feeling lazy. you could even fill half with the cheesecake, add a dollup of lemon, add more cheesecake and it will be a little surprise!

I am so excited to make these today! I decided instead of trying my luck finding the eggs at costco I am going to take those plastic eggs as a mold and continuely dip the egg in melted milk chocolate until I get the thickness I want. Hopefully they turn out or it will be just cheesecake for us! lol This is such a cute idea! Thank you for sharing!

I just finished making these! I get to costco to buy the eggs in time and using the plastic eggs didn't work (I think you need a proper chocolate egg mold for that) So I was adventerous and made my own hollow chocolate eggs from here http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2010/03/30/chocolate-easter-surprise-eggs/ I left the shell on so people have to crack and really eat them like softboiled eggs.

Amazing and omg so much fun to make! I stayed up till 2am because I didn't want to wait till tomorrow to complete them :)

I am in Australia and bought the Chocolatier brand of eggs and made these for Easter Sunday dessert and WHAT A HIT! I got the exact eggs you pictured - the pink speckled and cookies and cream one which is a white speckled one and 4 other flavours in the Chocolatier brand available from Coles or Kmart for $10 for six eggs. It is such an easy recipe. It was A DELIGHT. Thank you so much for sharing this. Would love to show you a photo of mine, but dont know how to send it to you?Ruby.

Amazing recipe. I used it today for Easter Sunday, with the good old Cadbury eggs come in the their own egg carton which mae it nice and easy! I cheated a little and used some delicious Yackandandah Jam's Lemon Curd. Everyone raved about them, will definitely be making again!

(https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=379280775438768&set=a.108157742551074.8382.108128805887301&type=1&theater) Is the link to my pic

Thank you so much for posting this recipe and pics! I made them for Easter lunch pudding today and they went down a treat. Brilliant. I took pictures which I'll post to pinterest with a thank you link back to you! Thanks again Nicky x

wow steph - these were SERIOUSLY GOOD!!!!! so good that my family has made it a new tradition that I have to make these every Easter from hereon in... they were so scrumptious. the perfect end to our day to follow a lamb roast. the perfect match of sweet and almost savoury, with the cheesecake being the perfect blend. I tweaked the measurements a little to stretch it out to 9 eggs, adding more philly, lemon juice and slightly more cream. I will absolutely be making these again! thanks for the inspiration, you are so very clever! x http://milkpleasemum.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/easter-weekend-love.html

We made these today. My hollow eggs were smaller as that is all I could find, but it made them perfect canapé sized so would well for a party. Being a lazy person, I couldn't be bothered digging my beater out to do the cream separately so I just bunged everything in my Kenwood and turned it on worked well. And passion fruit are as hard to find as hens teeth here so I used lemon curd and coloured it with a tiny bit of food colouring the flavours worked well together. Thank you for the great post I am glad I came across it.

that is my 2 favorite foods in the world. chocolate and cream cheese. and what a beautiful display they make and i can tell just by what they are made of that they are delicious, gonna keep this recipe and get my daughter who loves to make stuff like that and see if she wants to try making them, but of course ill help. i used to love to cook and bake but not able to do as much anymore but i try and help during the holidays, my daughter is an amazing cook, between me and her grandmother she was taught well, and has well passed my skills. sorry for the long comment but got carried away, great idea and thanks for sharing

I made these for everyone at easter. They were fantastic! Thank you for this different and amazing idea. I also brought the passionfruit pulp in a tin and froze the leftover passionfruit for future use.

wow. I see a UK blog has ripped you off this morning. She's linked to your Twitter page NOT this post and saying she 'got the idea' from you, means she is basically implying that she made up her own recipe. Am shocked.

I found your blog after a UK blogger mentioned you inspired her post. I had a little dig around your blog and it turns out she was actually quite sneaky about crediting you as you clearly acted as more than an inspiration for her recipe. I won't be reading her blog again but I will definitely keep you bookmarked :)

Maybe its since been edited but I came to your page from the blog Sara is referring to and there is a link to both this page and your twitter page. I guess there's no such thing as trying to do someone a good turn when you like what they do anymore. the author has expressly stated she got the idea from you. damn keyboard warriors and cyberbullies.

You may want to go and check out the UK blog called 'The Londoner'. She has taken this recipe from you and hasn't credited you in the correct way. She has linked to your twitter account, which in the laws of blogging (which she has been telling others all about this weekend) she should link to the page that she has ripped your content from.

She is taking the credit for this invention and it is not fair! This weekend she pulled up a blogger who made something (that had the same name as) she 'claims' to of come up with and shamed them on Twitter. It is not far that she is doing one rule for one and another rule for others.

I had to do some digging to find your blog and this page and others won't take the time to do the same.

You have a lovely blog and you should be credited in the proper blogger way! (full link to the page of the recipe). :)

I've decided to try this with a deeper centre and replace the passionfruit with dulce de leche topped off with a wee bit of condensed milk (died yellow for effect). The condensed milk will look runny and gooey. The taste of the dulce de leche with condensed milk will be delicious. I'll let you know how it goes. I think it's a good replacement for people with an even sweeter tooth... or who aren't fans of passionfruit or jam.

I attempted these this weekend and they turned out great. A few notes for those in the US where the eggs and passionfruit are not easy to find. I got mine online via See's as suggessted. They are great quality chocolate, but VERY expensive. They also have a "cracked" looked to them which makes them VERY difficult to get the tops off. I ended up using a hot knife and it took over an hour to do a dozen. This part was very time intensive. The cheesecake part was simple, easy, quick and tasty. For the yolk, I did apricot Jam and orange juice with a touch of butter. I added 10x sugar to make it sweet enough. All ingredients for the filling are easy to find as well. While the filling is easy, I think making the chocolate shells may have been easier than trying to cut ones that are already made. Overall, the end result was adorable and I would make these again.

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